The name Aesc had not been used since Morgan decided to reign over Britannia as the Queen of Winter. It was a name that should have been buried deep in memory. Yet Morgan had used it again.
During the twenty years she spent as a Servant alongside Shiomi, this name was far more ordinary than the famously notorious 'Morgan le Fay'—a name that would inevitably draw unwanted attention even in Proper Human History. And 2001 was precisely the period when Morgan presented herself under this name.
When Scáthach mentioned "unexpected circumstances," her tone was remarkably casual, clearly not the kind requiring concern.
After meeting up with Scáthach, Shiomi and Touko followed her into the inn. Pushing open the door and stepping into the entrance hall, Shiomi instantly understood what was going on.
There, Morgan sat on a sofa in one corner of the lobby, chatting warmly with Sakura and Caren. Joining them was Rin Tohsaka.
In 2001, Rin was 14, Sakura 13, and Caren only 12. All were at the threshold of adolescence.
"Weren't we supposed to wait outside the gate for you two to meet up before finalizing our plan?" Scáthach said, resting her arms on her hips. "But unfortunately, those three kids were out exploring on their own and ran into us outside the hotel."
"...Hmm..." Shiomi found this perfectly reasonable. He wasn't the type of old-fashioned parent insisting that girls behave primly. If anything, he preferred seeing Sakura and Caren here, full of energy to run around during the day.
Undoubtedly, after Sakura and Caren spotted Morgan outside the hotel, Morgan—playing it safe—didn't avoid them. Instead, she followed them into the lobby to rest and chat. If it were him, he'd probably do the same.
But seeing those kids again at this age... Shiomi couldn't help but mutter, "Time flies."
Just then, Sakura and the others spotted him, waving their arms excitedly in greeting. Shiomi smiled and waved back, pretending to be his contemporary self to maintain the illusion. He could only silently pray that he wouldn't run into 'himself.' After all, no one could say for certain what impact encounters between different versions of himself across eras might have on the Singularity.
"It's strange, though. Is this really the famous hot spring you mentioned?" Scáthach asked. "There aren't many guests here."
Just as Scáthach observed, the few sofas scattered throughout the lobby were sparsely occupied. And, as luck would have it, these few occupants were almost entirely familiar faces.
Shiomi recalled that when his family visited in 2001, besides these familiar faces who had indeed been here before, there had been many guests they didn't recognize at all.
"It's not just about having no guests—the ones who do come aren't ordinary folks either." Touko gave a resigned smile. "Looks like this hot spring trip is bound to be lively."
Because there were so few guests, any new arrivals naturally drew attention and stares. Then, among these guests, two women dressed in kimonos approached.
"Who'd have thought we'd meet here, Touko?" The woman in the white kimono greeted her.
Touko shook her head and smiled. "Me neither... But how should I put this? You look much more feminine than before, Shiki."
Shiki Ryougi. One of the two employees at the peculiar agency Tachibana ran when she opened Garan no Dou.
"You look quite different yourself compared to a few years ago," Shiki Ryougi replied with a quiet smile.
"Traveling alone?" Touko asked. "Don't seem like it."
"Of course, I'm with my husband and daughter," Shiki Ryougi replied. "But they're in the room right now. If you'd like to meet them, I can take you."
"Later," Touko said. "I'm here as a tourist too. Since we've run into each other, why don't we take a seat for tea and chat?"
With that, she waved to Shimi and walked away ahead of Shiki Ryougi, leaving the woman in the red-and-black patterned kimono behind. Though the woman who had just been speaking with Shiki Ryougi wasn't here to see Touko either.
"Long time no see, Mr. Shiomi. I trust you're well?"
"You're... Oh, Fujino Asagami." Shiomi recalled. Back in early '98, when he'd gone to find Touko, she was the schoolgirl he'd casually rescued from a gang of thugs. Later, due to special circumstances, after failing to "collect a debt" from Touko, he'd asked Fujino Asagami to look after her. Three or four years had passed since then.
"You look much better than before too," Shiomi smiled slightly. "Don't mind me over here. You're here on vacation too—enjoy the inn."
"All thanks to you. I won't disturb your vacation." Fujino replied with a graceful smile before turning to leave. She had merely come to greet her old benefactor out of courtesy.
"You've done quite a few purely good deeds yourself," Scáthach remarked. "I'd have thought you'd flirt with any woman who caught your eye."
"I know my master doesn't think much of me, but there should be a limit to that," Shiomi scratched his head awkwardly.
He then noticed Aoko Aozaki had somehow procured a paper bag, which she'd pulled over her head. She stood silently nearby, observing the situation. Now even this previously unremarkable individual seemed suspicious.
"What's the deal? Are you going to accompany your precious daughters, or sit down with us to sort things out?" Scáthach gestured toward Artoria and Scáthach. Those two had already settled into massage chairs, blissfully enjoying technology from twenty years ago.
"I'll go say hi to Sakura and Caren first—" Shiomi froze mid-sentence.
"What is it?" Scáthach raised an eyebrow.
Shiomi frowned thoughtfully. "If Fujino Asagami came here as a tourist these past few days, why would she specifically come to greet me? Given the current foot traffic, she should have seen me already."
"Either she's been holed up in her room this whole time, or—" Scáthach's smile sharpened. "She hasn't seen 'you' here before today, so there's no reason to greet a past benefactor."
Then, a figure appeared, swiftly offering a reference point for these doubts and speculations. It was a strangely dressed white-haired man with dark skin, wearing round sunglasses. The innkeeper, Yoshisuke Kumanoin.
"Mr. Shiomi, you registered only five people when you and your family checked in. But now there are so many more—that doesn't quite fit our establishment's rules." The innkeeper bared his teeth, his expression clearly displeased. "And you and your esteemed wife left the children behind for three days straight before returning. If you hadn't come back today, I would have called the police."
"What... did you say?"
Shiomi thought he'd misheard, but his master gripped his shoulder, confirming the words were true. The good news was, Shiomi no longer needed to worry about encountering his past self, nor did he need to consider covert actions.
The bad news was—Even Shiomi himself couldn't immediately figure out where the 2001 versions of 'Tenkei Shiomi' and 'Morgan' had gone.